Two employees at Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake opted to lose their jobs instead of adhere to the state’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement aimed at helping prevent the spread of the deadly disease. As of Monday that brings to 10 the total number of workers refusing to get the shot, according to a media release. Gov. Jay Inslee imposed a COVID-19 vaccination mandate Aug. 9, including for health care workers to be vaccinated by Oct. 18, or risk being fired.
MEANWHILE…
The hospital has had an ongoing staffing shortage and officials said earlier this month that they were hiting for 65 positions in patient and clinical care, including on-call, full-time and part-time. Governor Inslee announced late last month that he was asking for DoD medical personnel for hospitals.
AND ON AN ENCOURAGING NOTE…
The rate of COVID-19 cases in Grant County has declined 26%, according to the CDC’s COVID Data Tracker. And, the death rate dropped 57%. However, hospitalizations increased 100%, with 22 new infections in the county last week.
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